REFLECTIONS TODAY The parable on the seed growing secretly and that of the mustard seed give us a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like or how it develops. Like a seed that sprouts and grows without us noticing it, the Kingdom can also grow unnoticed or without spectacular signs. We see what...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today we remember Sts. Timothy and Titus who labored with the Apostle Paul in planting the Gospel in Asia Minor and beyond. Their partnership in mission reflects the sending of the first apostles in pairs, presumably for mutual support. St. Paul shows in his letters how grateful...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Paul’s conversion was purely God’s initiative. At the same time, for this grace of God not to have been in vain, Paul needed to accept and embrace it without looking back to his past. This grace was so overpowering that his whole energy and attention was now redirected towards...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the Church nowadays, we have this beautiful practice of calling one another “brothers” and “sisters.” Our common bond of faith and love of the Lord Jesus Christ naturally makes us really feel that we are brothers and sisters to one another. Obviously, this bond is more...
REFLECTIONS TODAY One of the surest signs that something is not from God is when there are divisions, factions, quarrels. While at times one may have to stand for one’s principles and thus resist evil or oppression, our ultimate goal is to pursue and preserve love, peace, and harmony. When Jesus...
#MINDANAO John Tria I traveled the length of the Davao Cotabato highway last week. I caught sight of the famous gorgeous sunset over the Moro Gulf. Travelling the five-hour stretch between Davao and Cotabato cities, at daytime and nigh time, I passed many parts of a four-lane, well-lit highway,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MATTHEW 4:12-23 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In our jobs, there are certain days when we feel like we get swarmed by too much work, things to accomplish piling one on top of another, and we do not even have time to eat or at least enjoy what we eat. In church ministry, this can also happen: on certain days we are just too...
REFLECTIONS TODAY We know that, as God, Jesus could have carried out his ministry single-handedly. Yet, because he chose to fully immerse himself in the human condition, it means that he could not do everything by himself all at once. He thus needed companions, co-workers, and partners in mission....
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel narrates Jesus being very active and “successful” in his ministries of healing, teaching, and driving out demons. People from all over come in order to experience his power. He and his disciples have to be very creative in order to meet the excessive demand. We...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What can catch our attention in today’s Gospel is that Jesus looks with anger at those who condemn him for healing a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath. But this is immediately explained by the next words: he “grieved at their hardness of heart” (v 5). Some of us may be...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The First Reading declares that God is faithful to his promise as he made good the promise he made to Abraham. The Hebrews only needed to be faithful, patient, and enduring in their efforts to imitate their models. God’s faithfulness to his promise may not come in the form or...
